An educational blog on the various types of Depression, their symptoms, causes and treatments, including natural remedies. Readers are welcome to post comments or helpful articles so that we can help those who suffer from this terrible illness.

Monday, August 25, 2008

Throughout the course of our lives, we all experience episodes of unhappiness, sadness, or grief. Often, when a loved one dies or we suffer a personal tragedy or difficulty such as divorce or loss of a job, we may feel depressed. Depression can strike at any time, and properly responding to the depression is very important.

Some people don't really understand about depression. They may criticize a depressed person's low energy, yelling at the person for acting lazy or not trying harder. Some people mistakenly believe that depression is just an attitude or a mood that a person can shake off. It's not that easy. Sometimes even people who are depressed don't take their condition seriously enough. Some people feel that they are weak in some way because they are depressed. This is wrong and it can even be harmful if it causes people to hide their depression and avoid getting help.

Sometimes friends or family members recognize that someone is depressed. They may respond with love, kindness, or support, hoping that the sadness will soon pass. They may offer to listen if the person wants to talk. If the depressed feeling doesn't pass with a little time, friends or loved ones may encourage the person to get help from a doctor, therapist, or counselor.

The depressed person will most times want to talk about their life problems. They may want you to confirm their negative view of life and at the same time can be very manipulative, needy, and demanding. There is much time and effort exerted trying to solve their problems and when they become exhausted and realize that there is no solution they become further depressed. It will be very easy for you to be sucked into this spiral of emotions to the benefit of neither you nor your depressed friend. Their problems might be horrendous and unsolvable at this time, but for now the most pressing problem in their life is the depression, this is especially true if they are having suicidal thoughts.

Keep in mind that you are not trying to provide solutions to their life problems and you are not trying cure their depression. What you are attempting to accomplish is to help them explore other opinions and options as to the cause and the cure of their depression.

5 comments:

Dysthymic Disorder is characterized by chronic depression, but with less severity than a major depression. The essential symptom for dysthymic disorder is an almost daily depressed mood for at least two years, but without the necessary criteria for a major depression. Low energy, sleep or appetite disturbances and low self-esteem are usually part of the clinical picture as well. http://www.besthealthmed.com/depression.html

Depression is a common psychiatric disorder in the modern world and a growing cause of concern for health agencies. You can be used to assess the presence and severity of mild degrees of mood disorder. Take the test here : Depression Rating Scale.

I agree with the advice in this blog post. It is so important to seek good professional help to overcome depression. Many people are afraid to look for help for their depression. They are overwhelmed by their negative feelings and often afraid to confide in a family member or close friend. One in five of us (myself included) at some point in our lives will suffer from depression. The good news is you can learn to manage and overcome your depression with the right help and support. My own recovery from depression has given me an empathy for those who carry the weight of mental illness around with them on a daily basis. I set up a blog offering depression advice . Feel free to visit my blog http://depressionadviceblog.com

About Me

I am a single Mother of 3 wonderful kids, ages; 6, 7 and 8yrs old. We tried to have kids for over 6 yrs with no luck. We figured there were a lot of great kids that needed homes so we decided to adopt. We adopted a wonderful one yr old boy in 2004, then adopted his newborn sister a few months later. A week after we got her, I found out I was pregnant! So I went from having no kids, to having 3 kids in less than a year. Be careful what you pray for! I am a full-time student working on my degree in Social Work and I work as a Peer Support Specialist at a Wellness and Recovery Center for people with depression, anxiety, etc. The three most important things in my life are: Faith, Family and Friends.